Il 96 Helsinki
 

There is an Il96-300 (Special Flight Squadron) doing circuits and bumps at Helsinki Vantaa - it keeps flying over my house.

It seems it is here for some time and has a contract to do 50 landings (according to newspaper).

Why on earth it should choose here when I would think it would be more economic to do training in it's home country.

Perhaps it is spying?

It's been going around for about 41/2 hours now and it has not been above 10,000 feet.

I don't know what the fuel burn is but, a large 4 engined a/c, below 10,000 feet possibly burns say 7000kg per hour.

I would think it's used around 35/40,000 litres - did someone mention carbon footprint!!

Ah, it landed off that approach.

Training in preparation of the Russian invasion of Finland?

I did wonder if theywere going to "open the doors" and drop a load of paratroops!!

:)

That will be Phase II ;)

Could it be part of the 'open skies' agreement whereby Russian military (in Russia, the line between military and civilian always seems a bit blurred) aircraft fly around NATO countries for a certain amount of days per year? I know there have been occasions when military Antonovs have trundled around UK airspace for no apparent reason.

Well, I'm certain there'll have been a plan.

https://youtu.be/Rb0QLxcvowk

The Il96 (callsign L9071) is at it again - airborne 0919 (local)

If it's practising landings, it's not very efficient as it only managed about 6 or 8 in just over 4 hrs yesterday - possibly as it had to fit in with scheduled traffic.

Takes me back to an 4+ hour ANZ DC10 trainer, LHR - LHR with 30+ touch and goes at Stansted, when all the crew needed recency after the grounding.

Well, Finland is not a NATO member state. So i would rule that one out.

Is it still going? :O

It was negotiated by NATO but it is not exclusive to it. Both Finland and Russia are signatories to it, and in fact it was signed in Helsinki.There is currently an An 30 droning around the UK giving ATC nightmares :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_Open_Skies

You will all be pleased to know that after a day of rest yesterday (too many beers Friday night?) the aircraft is cranking around again this morning.

It has been using the cross runway (15/33) most of the morning so I did not see it.

The "putinator" is "putinatoring" again this morning.

My brother in law found an article in the Finnish press which indicated that the IL96 is attempting to gain some kind of approval.

Approval for what I do not know, but it may be some kind of navigational approval as it seems to enter various holding patterns and execute racetracks between each approach, which seems to end with a low go around.

We need a Finnish speaker with good technical knowledge!!

RNAV approval, potentially?

It has been widely published in local newspapers here that it is doing certification flights for RNAV approval - whatever that exactly means. No reason for alarm.